


Captured Hearts

by 13Midnight_Muse



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Good Lotor, Healthy Shotor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Langst, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Partially ignoring season 6, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Shiro is not a Clone, Slow Build, Torture, Violence, healthy lancelot, shangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-05-25 02:56:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14967608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/13Midnight_Muse/pseuds/13Midnight_Muse
Summary: On his way to late night training, Shiro overhears Lance confessing his feelings for him to Hunk. Overjoyed by this news, he plans to share his feelings the next day. His plans were interrupted by a seemingly simple mission. Then everything went wrong, Lance ends up getting captured by the Galra. Lance is placed in a cell next the former Prince of the Galra. They bond while they face unimaginable horrors. Shiro is frantic looking for Lance and Team Voltron eventually finds him but they find that Lance is not the same. They also have to deal with a new...guest. A very traumatized guest that used to be their enemy that they don't  trust(except for Lance). Will Shiro finally confess his feelings for Lance and how to deal with Lotor? How will Lance deal with newfound feelings for his new friend and his feelings for his hero? After a lifetime of horror, will Lotor be able to recover and find love?





	1. Late Night Confessions and Miscommunication

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my first fanfic so constructive criticism is encouraged. I noticed that there aren't many Shancelot fics so I decided to fix that. Also Shiro doesn't disappear at the end of season two. I'll write the explanation later. I came up with this idea on my tumblr and I finally decided to write it. I want them to be happy but I just enjoy angst so much!

Shiro just had a nightmare…again. Shiro was heading towards the training room to do some late night exercises when he heard someone is already there. He decided to investigate and see who could be training at this late hour. He assumed it was Keith. He was getting ready to coerce Keith to go to bed and to stop training so much even though he knows that he make him a huge hypocrite. He is surprised to see that it was Hunk and Lance training. They stood back to back shooting down targets whizzing around them. They were actually doing pretty well, Lance especially. Shiro decided to continue to discreetly watch Lance them. Lance didn’t seem to miss any target and Hunk seems to hold his own. This impressive display went on for a while until they finish. Shiro was just about to go back to his room but then he heard them talking.

 

“I don’t know how you were able to rope into late night training, Lance. I know we were awesome and all but this is way too late,” Hunk complained.

 

“Hey I need to train but I don’t want to do it alone. The castle gets really creepy at night. Besides I gotta to keep up my sharpshooting skills,” Lance said while pointing finger guns at his annoyed best friend. 

 

“Just because you want to practice so you can show off your skills to Allura doesn’t mean you have to drag me into it,” Hunk said as he rolled his eyes. Shiro felt the familiar flare of envy and decided to leave so he wouldn’t have to hear about Lance’s huge crush on the princess but then he heard something shocking.

 

“What? No! I don’t like her like that!” Lance exclaimed. When Hunk was about to argue, Lance said, “Anymore. I mean I still think she’s amazing but I know that’s never going to happen. Besides I like someone else. I kind of always had since the beginning.” Hunk and especially Shiro were shocked by this confession. Shiro must know who Lance has a crush on. “Who the hell is it?!” he thought. Luckily, Hunk presses the issue and pesters his friend for a name.

 

“Come on…who’s the lucky lady?” Hunk said in a teasing voice. “Come on! Aren’t you going to tell your ol’buddy, old pal?” Shiro is with Hunk. He needs to know who Lance has a crush on and he needs to know now. If Lance has to tell anyone the identity of his crush it would be Hunk. Then Shiro hears another shocking confession. 

 

“They’re not a girl,” Lance finally relented. Shiro is completely shocked. He didn’t know that Lance was into guys. He felt a little hopeful but that feeling quickly went away. Lance would never want him. There’s the age difference and the fact that he’s Lance leader. “He probably thinks of me as his dad. He would never want me,” Shiro thought but he has to know. 

 

“Is he someone we know?” Hunk pressed.

 

“Don’t you have to sleep?” Lance questioned irritably.

 

“I do but this is way too interesting. So it is someone we know,” Hunk said triumphantly.

 

Lance didn’t reply and starts to blush. Then he said, “It doesn’t matter. He would never want me. Why do I always crush on someone I can never have?” Shiro wants to comfort his sad crush but he must keep hidden. He didn’t want them to find out that he was eavesdropping on them. That would be an awkward conversation. He just has to settle for listening.

 

Hunk seemingly ignoring his friend’s moment of insecurity said with a smile,” I bet its Keith.” Shiro again felt that stab of envy but this time towards his pseudo brother.

 

Lance turned pale and his eyes widen. Shiro along Hunk thought that was confirmation. Just when Hunk was about shout in triumph and Shiro was about to skulk back to room and sulk, Lance said, well shouted, the third and most shocking thing this night.

 

“What?! No! It’s not Keith!” Lance shouted in shock. Shiro felt so much relief. He didn’t want to fight his pseudo brother. But the question remained. “Who the hell is it?” Shiro thought.

 

“Well then, who is it? Come on you call tell me. I’m your best friend, “Hunk said kindly.

 

“It’s…it’s...it’s Shiro,”Lance finally admitted. Shiro is stunned and he thought that Hunk would be surprised also. That was not the case. Hunk just smiled and chuckled at his best friend.

 

“Ha! I knew it!” Hunk exclaimed. Lance was flustered by this. Didn’t he mention Keith? 

 

“Didn’t you mention Keith?” Lance questioned.

 

“I know. I mentioned him just to mess with you. It was pretty obvious you had a crush on Shiro when we were at the Garrison. I just thought that was over when you met Allura,” Hunk said.

 

“Oh…well it never really went away. Hunk, I got it bad,” Lance cried. Shiro was overt the moon with this news. Lance has the same feelings as he does. He couldn’t believe it. He never felt so relieved until he realized that Lance never told him his feelings but was not afraid to show his affections to Allura.

 

“Why don’t you tell Shiro your feelings?” Hunk questioned.

 

“What?! Are you crazy? He’ll never feel that way for me. He’s our leader. He’s that Garrison poster boy. He’s the Black Paladin. He’s strong, smart, and kind. I’m just the seventh wheel. I’m not even sure if he even likes me that much. I know he tolerates me but like me? I’m not sure. Even if...I mean if he likes me, he’s been through too much. I don’t think he needs or wants a relationship right now. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like he will ever like me like I like him. That’s okay. He deserves better than just a boy from Cuba. Hell, I’m not even sure if he likes boys anyway,” Lance ranted.

 

“Lance…” Hunk said with concern.

 

“Forget it. We should head back to bed anyway,” Lance quietly said. Shiro then sprinted from the entrance and hid behind a corner. He saw Lance quickly leaving the training room and Hunk following soon afterwards. He stood thinking about what Lance said. Shiro was flattered by Lance’s compliments but was saddened by what Lance said about himself. He never knew Lance felt that way. He was more than the seventh wheel. He was the Blue Paladin and the team’s sharp shooter. Why would Lance think that Shiro didn’t like him? Sure, he kept his distance and he may have been a little hard on him but that doesn’t he doesn’t he like him. Although, he never go out of his way to spend time with him and sometimes he even avoided him. It’s just sometimes hard to be around him and it’s not even Lance’s fault. Lance reminds him of what he used to be before the Kerberos mission. He was once happy and full of laughs too but then all that changed. He doesn’t want a living reminder of what he once been. The other reason is a bit more complicated. He wants to be with Lance but he just can’t handle all these feelings he has for him. When he first saw Lance, he thought he was looking at an angel with that adorable smile and those gorgeous, lively blue eyes. Then Voltron happened and he didn’t have time to deal with all these new feelings. Shiro didn’t think Lance would have romantic feelings for him. He knows Lance admires him but have a crush on him? He would never want a guy missing an arm and some memories. He would never want be with a guy who is plagued with nightmares and covered with scars. “But yet he does,” Shiro said with a small smile.

 

Shiro decided to spend more time with Lance. He thinks telling that Lance his feelings would not be believed. He will spend some alone time with him and then after some time, he will tell Lance his true feelings. Shiro goes to his room to form a plan to get Lance alone and to get some sleep before tomorrow. He hopes his plan will work and if not, he will try again. He won’t give up.

 

The next quintant, Shiro has the perfect plan. He would ask Lance do one-on-one training with him and when that’s over, he will ask Lance to hang out with him afterwards. Hopefully they’ll start to hang out more often after that. It’s a simple plan but he only had a few hours of sleep. It’ll work out. What could go wrong?

 

Everything. Everything can go wrong. Shiro was able to catch Lance after breakfast. “Hey, Lance. I was wondering if you want to have one-on-one training with me. I noticed that you were having trouble with hand-to-hand combat,” Shiro said hopefully with a friendly face. Then Lance had a weird expression that he never seen before but that quickly changed into his normal cheery smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Oh…I didn’t think I was that bad that you have to train me,” Lance said in seemingly joking manner. “Shit!” Shiro thought. “Of course he thinks that I don’t think much of his abilities as a paladin. He just confessed this to Hunk last night.”

 

“No. No. No. No. Lance. I’m just trying to---“Shiro was cut off but the Castle alarm.

 

“Paladins! We just received intelligence from the Blades of Mamora. Meet me at the Bridge now,” Allura said on the intercom.

 

“Shit!” Shiro thought.

 

Lance and Shiro were able to make it to the Bridge in record time. They were silent on the way there. Shiro was a little irritated by the crap timing of this mission but duty calls. The rest of the team soon followed them. Allura and Coran were surrounded by holographic screens. They look like schematics of a Galran prison. Kolivan, the leader of the Blades, was on the large screen looking stoic as ever. They all faced Kolivan and got ready to listen to what their ally would say.

 

“Paladins! We received information about one of the secret prisons that houses some of our own along with some leaders from conquered planets. We would liberate them ourselves but we are currently spread too thin and so are the rebels. We were hoping that you would take this mission.”

 

“Of course. Voltron would be glad to help. We won’t fail you,” Allura said confidently.

 

“There’s more. This is also an extraction mission. As you can see, we have the schematics of the prison. We have an agent on the inside that was able to provide them along with the guards’ patterns and some codes. We’ll provide you the agent’ identity and when you meet, they’ll give you the rest of the codes and direct you to the prisoners.”

 

“Thank you, Kolivan. We’ll get your agent and free those prisoners and take to back to their rightful planets,” Shiro replied.

 

“Thank you, Black Paladin. I hope you will succeed with the mission. Kolivan out.” Then the screen went black.

 

“Okay. We’ll separate into groups. Hunk, you will stay inside your lion outside the prison so you can provide transport for the prisoners since your lion is one of the largest and the sturdiest. Keith, you provide a distraction and then join us inside the prison to pick off any guards that are left. Lance, Pidge and I are going inside the prison to rescue the prisoners along with extracting the agent. Pidge will hack the security system while Lance and I provide cover. We’ll send most of the prisoners to Hunk’s lion and some to our own if we can’t fit them all or if it’s more convenient. Understood?” Shiro commanded.

 

“Right!” everyone said in unison. This will be a simple mission. “Good. Once we finish the mission. I’ll talk to Lance alone and we’ll hang out afterwards,” Shiro thought. “Hopefully, nothing will go wrong, right? Right?” Shiro didn’t realize that he has tempted fate.


	2. Betrayals and Paranoia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a Lotor chapter...it's not fluff. I think this takes place during the episode The Journey since there will be no Shiro clone. The Shiro in this story will be the original one as I said in the last chapter. I will explain it in a later chapter.
> 
> I still like Kuron though so I may or may not bring him into the story (much) later. Don't get your hopes up.

Lotor and his Generals just had a major victory. They had finally gotten the comet that they need for their plans. This is all thanks to the unwitting Voltron when they crossed into and from that alternate universe. They were one major step closer to realizing their goal. The lively Ezor was practically bouncing off the walls and Zethrid was, as per usual, complaining that they couldn’t do more damage. Narti and Acxa had more stoic reactions to for their victory but if you looked more closely you would see a hint of amusement.

  


“Man! I wish we could have got a few more hits in when we took that comet from Voltron!” complained Zethrid.

  


“Oh Zethrid! You say that every time we have a mission. What I want to see is the look on their faces when we took that comet right under their noses!”Ezor laughed.

  


“Yes, next time we have to thank Voltron for retrieving our comet. We couldn’t get it without them” Lotor said with an amused smirk.

  


“Sir, what is our next move?” the ever goal oriented Axca asked.  


“We get the sentries to start working on the comet immediately. Then we start heading towards our next target, the Teleduv lenses. They are currently housed at the Black Site. I don’t need to tell you the difficulty of this mission. We need to plan our next action but first we need to gather our strength. You are dismissed, my Generals,” Lotor replied.

  


When everyone was about to retire, a call came in and it was none other than Haggar. Everyone in ship became tense and went into their positions. After he put on a neutral but still bored face and stood in correct position, he answered the call. Haggar’s displeased face appeared on the large holoscreen.

  
“Prince Lotor, you have been summoned. You must report to the Main Galra Fleet immediately. We have urgent matters to discuss,” the witch said.

  


“And exactly what matters do we have to discuss?” Lotor questioned with a voice that is slightly tinged with annoyance.

  


“None that can be said in front of your crew. We must meet in private,” Haggar said in a condescending tone.  


Lotor quickly stamped down on the indignant feeling so it wouldn’t show on his face and replied in a professional tone, “Yes, I will be there quickly.” He never thought he would get a lot of respect when he became temporary emperor but he still foolishly hoped that would at least get a little. He turned to his Generals and he noticed the looks of apprehension on their faces.

  
“Well, that was weird! Wonder what her problem is?” Ezor said.

  


“What do you mean? She’s always cranky,” Zethrid said.

  


“I know that but she’s a little off…well more than usual. Right Narti?” Ezor asked with her normal cheerful tone.

  


Narti just responds with simple nod.  


“This does seem suspicious. This summons seems to come out of nowhere. There are no new developments that would need attention. Zarkon is still in a coma or else we would have known about his recovery by now. This does seem off as Ezor said. Do you think that she knows something?” Axca supplied.

  


“I know. She’s definitely hiding something. I think this some way of interrogation. She keeps putting trackers on my ships and always trying to get some random idiot soldier to track my movements. She obviously doesn’t trust me but that’s nothing new. I think might know something about my plans. If so, this maybe is a trap,”Lotor replied.

  
“What would we do if it is?” Axca questioned.  


“Well we have to go or we’ll look suspicious. Narti and I will head to the Royal Ship. We’ll have to form an escape plan if this goes south on the way there but I already have one forming. Once we escape, we will continue and possibly accelerate our plans since we’ll probably be on the Empire’s watch list. Until then, we will now set course for the Royal Ship,” Lotor ordered.

  


As the crew went to the controls and as Narti and Lotor prepares to go his personal cruiser, Lotor, overcome with a sense of dread, set Axca and Narti aside and tells them something in a low voice where no one else can hear. “If something goes wrong and I don’t make it, Axca, you are in charge and you must continue with our plans. We have spent too much time and effort for our plans to fail,”Lotor said with a grave tone.

  
“Yes, sir” Axca said discomfited by these words. Narti just nodded solemnly.  


Later when Narti and Lotor arrived to the Royal Ship, Haggar was waiting for him and glaring as usual. She tersely said,”Come. We must go to the Throne Room.” Lotor follows the witch to the Throne Room while he leaves Narti at the hangar. Lotor’s feeling of dread still didn’t go away and, in fact, it worsens when he noticed all the guards. There are a lot more guards than usual and they all looked at him with more hatred than usual. This is definitely a trap but he has to keep going to see what’s going and what does that witch knows. He was prepared to face off with and escape the witch when the doors open but he didn’t expect this.

  


“No! How?! How is he even awake? He should be at death’s door by now?” Lotor thought. Lotor’s feeling of dread quickly turned into terror but as usual prevents that feeling from showing on his face and body language. He had years of practice. The only emotion that shows on his face is slight surprise Lotor notes the striking change in his father’s appearance. The emperor is now covered in grotesque armor with tubes filled with corrupted quintessence pumping into his body. There is also an unhinged air about him. Lotor knows there that this won’t end well.

  
“Lotor, you seemed surprised by my apparent “resurrection.” You didn’t expect to rule permanently, did you?” Zarkon said in a mocking voice.

  


“No. Of course not, I’m just relieved that you are awake. This is a great day for the Great Empire,” said Lotor playing the dutiful son. “I hope that my (very) short reign will do you pr---“  


Lotor was cut off by a suddenly enraged Zarkon. “STOP WITH THE LIES!” Zarkon yelled. Lotor barely suppressed the flinch and steeled himself for what’s next. He screws his face into false horrified shock. “What are you talking about? I would never lie to you,” Lotor said once again playing the part.

  


“I know you are up to something and I will find out what. I know you want to overthrow me and I know of how you are turning some of my soldiers to your side. You always have!”Zarkon raged. Lotor was no longer playing the part and was genuinely confused. As he raged on, Zarkon still didn’t say anything about his plans. That was when Lotor has come to a horrible conclusion: Zarkon didn’t know of his plans. This was just plain albeit (unknowingly) justified paranoia. “This is very bad,” Lotor thought as Zarkon continue to rage on and on.

  
“I would never betray the Empire! You have to believe me!” Lotor pleaded. He noticed that the guards started to advance towards him.  


“I’m sick of your lies. Guards take him away,” Zarkon said calmly as if he hadn’t spent the last half varga ranting off his paranoid delusions. His father was clearly unhinged. Lotor didn’t have time to contemplate as he started to fight off the seemingly countless guards. He throws a punch at one guard and the guard was immediately knocked out. Another quickly took his place and Lotor sent a kick to his gut and ran past the others. He was able to reach his sword when he had the time and sliced the through several guns and guards. He ran down the seemingly never ending hallway dodging several blasts by countless guards. He fought, ran, fought again, and ran some more. He was finally reached the hangar where his ship was and saw Narti taking down the last guard in the hangar. They used fewer guards for her because they deemed her a lesser threat. Fools.

  


He was about halfway to her when the guards start to pour into the hangar. They were closing in on him and he was exhausted. They were about to close in on Narti also. He then realized that he was not going to make it. He sent Narti an agonized look and nodded his head. Narti realized what that meant and was very reluctant to leave her leader behind. She continued to hesitate but when a blast nearly grazed her she quickly went inside the ship. Lotor watched as she flew away and hoped that she would make it to his team and warn them. He quickly turned around and fought desperately against the unending waves of Galran soldiers. He continued to run hoping to steal a ship and get away from the crazed Emperor. He started to tire and then a shot hit him in the shoulder. He fell over and before he could get up, he grabbed by two soldiers. He was dragged back to the Throne Room and, due to exhaustion and knowing that it would be futile, he didn’t fight it.

  
“We caught the traitor, Lord Zarkon,” one unnamed soldier said. Lotor didn’t say anything and glared at the witch and his insane father. He could almost see the unhinged sneer under the mask.  


“I should have you publicly executed, son,”Zarkon sneered at the last word as if it was some kind of insult to his sensibilities. “But I know have some plan and I will get that information. Knowing that you won’t easily talk, we’ll send you to place that will make you talk,” Zarkon said. “Send him to one of the secret prisons. He’ll know which one when he gets there.”

  


Lotor continued to say nothing and Zarkon seemed amused. “What? No rousing speech. No pleading for your life. No proclamation of your undying loyalty. What say you, traitor?” Zarkon growled out the last word.

  
Lotor finally said something. “Your reign will end at the end of my blade,” Lotor said with finality.

  


“Take the traitor away and send your best soldiers after his generals,” Zarkon coldly commanded.  


Suddenly, the guards tightened their grips on his arms and another guard came towards him. He was hit on the head with a butt of the gun and then he was on the ground. Before he lost consciousness, he heard his father yelling but he couldn’t tell what; it was all fuzzy. He also saw the witch stare at him with a predatory look and then he knew nothing. 

  


When we woke, he was laying on a hard stone ground. He groaned and saw he was surrounded by four violet walls and he noticed the various blood stains on the floor. The four walls were continuously pulsing with some strange energy. He tried to figure out where he was but he couldn’t remember. This may be caused by the concussion. As his head throbbed, he saw two guards and a druid approach one side of his strange prison. He then recognized the uniforms and then the horror starts to set in.

  
“Not here! Not this place!” he thought frantically. He then realized he will not survive this.  


“Time for you first session, my dear prince,” one of the sadistic guards jeered.  
It was quiet for several dobashes except for a few groans and crackling electricity then Lotor’s screams rang throughout the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comment please. Validate me!
> 
> Poor Lotor...Welp, the next chapter will be back on the Paladins and it will be focused on Lance. It won't be fluff. 
> 
> I was going to write it as if Zarkon does know Lotor's plans but I realized it would be more interesting/terrifying if Zarkon was just crazy and paranoid. Maybe it's because he came back too early or if he really is that crazy but his injuries made it more apparent. Besides at this point, Lotor's plans really just got started so there's not much to know at the time.
> 
> P.S. Do you guys, gals, and non-binary pals have a better name for this story? I don't dislike it but I don't love it. You can suggest the names in the comments or in the asks on my tumblr @shancelot-is-a-thing.


	3. Splitting Up & Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a Lance chapter. I'm sorry if it's not that good. I haven't done action before sooooooooo...I tried.

It should have been a simple mission but then everything went wrong. At first, everything was according to plan. Hunk was waiting in the Yellow Lion for the signal to come to the prison’s hangar to retrieve the prisoners. Hunk was hiding behind a large asteroid and provided some discreet cover for Keith. Keith was weaving through space avoiding the onslaught of lasers and occasionally fired lasers back at the prison’s laser canons.

The prison didn’t look that special. It wasn’t that much different from the other Galran prisons. It was grey with violet accents. It wasn’t particularly large but it looked like it would take time to find the prisoners and the agent. The only difference was that it covered in cannons and was at unique location. It was just outside the orbit of a large, dead planet. The strange prison was surrounded in asteroids. The asteroids acted as a shell around the prison. The shell was a way to hide and protect the prison. Most of the asteroids constantly shifted around the prison which made it near impossible to get into and out of the prison. The evidence of this was the pieces of dead ships (and the rare dead crew mate) both floating inside and outside the shell. The only reason that the team was able to get in without major damage was because of the schematics sent by the Blades of Mamora. There were secret passage ways where some asteroids stayed still which created a whole in the nearly impenetrable shell. This is so prisoners can be transferred into the prison. Hunk was sitting near one of the passage ways. 

Keith went first immediately getting the attention of all the prison’s security. The remaining lions followed soon after seemingly without the prison’s knowledge. They were able to get inside on the prison’s hangar without any trouble. Keith was weaving out of harm’s way. He wasn’t getting hit at all and the closet he’d ever got was a few near misses. Hunk was still safe and undetected. Everything was going well. “Too well,” Lance thought as he ran with the others.  
The inside of the prison is what really set it apart from any Galran prison. It was built like a labyrinth. There many halls that led to dead ends but at the same time there multiple ways to get to several locations. After reviewing the schematics and the locations of the prisoners, they decided to split up. Pidge will go find the agent and get the codes. Lance and Shiro each will go to one section of the prison where they will find the prisoners. They all keep the coms open so Pidge can provide the codes the free the prisoners. Once they freed the prisoners, they would meet at the rendezvous point and take all the prisoners to the Yellow Lion. If Hunk couldn’t make it, they would take the prisoners to their lions. Lance didn’t like the sound of this plan as splitting up hardly works out well. Lance, not wanting to seem like a fool and also because he didn’t have an alternate plan to offer, didn’t say anything.

The walls were grey with corrupted quintessence pulsing and humming throughout its accents. The place gave an eerie vibe which made Lance tense as he jogged down the twisting hallways. He constantly checked the map so he wouldn’t get lost. He noticed something off about this place. There were no guards. 

“Hey guys, do you think this is suspicious that there are no guards around?” Lance questioned.

“They’re probably all too busy dealing with Keith. Besides, this place is designed to be one of the Galra’s most inescapable prisons. They probably don’t need that many guards,” Pidge assured.

“But---“Lance was cut off by Shiro.

“Guys, we need to focus. I admit this seems suspicious but we got to stick to the plan,” Shiro commanded.

“Right,” Lance and Pidge said in unison even though Lance sounded less than sure.

Lance continued to jog throughout the prison. He finally made it to the door that led to the cells and found that there were guards. There were only two sentries though. Lance quickly dispatched them with a couple of headshots. Just as the second bot went down, Pidge contacted him.

“Lance, I found the agent. Are you at the cells?” Pidge questioned.

“Yeah. There were only two sentries guarding the door. I still think something is wrong with this prison. This is way too easy,” Lance said as he punched in the code to open the door.

“Lance, you’re probably just paranoid. Here are the codes for the prisoners,” Pidge then sent the codes to Lance.

Lance ran to the console and uploaded the codes like Pidge told him. The energy fields quickly turned off and the prisoners stumbled out of the cells. They all peered at him confused. They were many types of aliens in the prisons. Some were huge and some were short. Some were furry with four arms. There was one that seemed to be completely made of slime. They all looked worn and tired. Their treatment was far from kind in this accursed place.

Lance then announced, “This is the Blue Paladin of Voltron! My team and I are here to rescue you and take you back to your rightful places on your planets. If you would follow me, I will take you to your transport.”

The prisoners seemed reluctant due the prison’s reputation of being inescapable. Then after a moment of hesitation, they followed Lance. Lance then spoke into the comms.

“I got the prisoners. Shiro? Did you find the other prisoners?”

“I found them. We’re heading to the rendezvous point now…Good job, Lance,” Shiro responded.

Lance was pleasantly surprised by the praise. Shiro has praised him before but it’s not often. Lance was in front using the map to find the rendezvous point. The group was sprinting down the halls when suddenly a metal wall came down right in front of them and alarms started blaring. The halls were soon bathed in flashing red light. Lance then started to hear a bunch of metallic footsteps running towards them. 

“Where the quiznak are these sentries coming from?” Lance thought. He went to the back of the anxious group to provide cover when Shiro’s voice then started to come onto the comms.

“Pidge?” Shiro questioned sounding stressed.

“Guys! The Galra found out we were coming and they’re trying to trap us in the maze!” Pidge said frantically.

“We need to take alternate routes! The first priority is to make sure the prisoners get to safety,” Shiro commanded.

“Right,” Lance and Pidge said in unison.

Luckily before the mission, Lance looked at the map and some alternate paths to the rendezvous point. The maze reminded him of those maze books he used to have whenever his family went on long car rides to visit some distant family member. He remembered becoming very good at them to a point where he would finish one book and then another in one car ride which left him very bored on the ride back.

“Quick! Follow me!” Lance exclaimed as he went down a hallway to the right of him. This route would take few more dobashes than the original one. Hopefully, if they hurry, they would make it in. They kept making many turns as metal walls started to come down and the sentries start to get closer and closer. They were running for fifteen dobashes when he hears Shiro’s voice again.

“Hunk! Come to the hangar. We got the prisoners,” Shiro said slightly out of breath. 

“He must have been fighting sentries,” Lance thought. Lance then heard sounds of lasers and grunting.

“I don’t think I can make it! The prison seems to know I’m here and they’re really coming down on Keith. It’s like they were just toying with us before,” Hunk yelled frantically.

“Hunk provide Keith with cover and get out of there,” Shiro ordered.

“Lance! Pidge! Change of plans! We need to take them to our Lions at the hangar. Copy?”

“Right,” Lance and Pidge confirmed.

Lance then looked at the map again and found a route to the hangar. Lance then groaned when he realized this might take a while. Lance then led the group through is infuriating maze of a prison while blasting the steady stream of sentries left and right. The metal walls kept coming down. This lasted for a while and Lance was getting exhausted from all the running. He almost cried with relief when he saw the hangar. Shiro and Pidge were already at their Lion leading the prisoners into them.

They were halfway there when sentries started flooding in. Lance quickly went to the back of the group to provide cover. He was blasting sentries from all directions. Some were shooting from a high vantage point and some were shooting from the ground level. The prisoners were sprinting as fast as they can. Then a large wall started to come down on them. One of the slowest prisoners stumbled and fell and the wall was coming down fast. Lance, realizing the situation as the amount of sentries started to rapidly grow, pushed the prisoner under the wall.

“Guys, get the prisoners into my Lion! I’ll provide cover!” Lance yelled filled with dread.

“Lance! What are doing? Get back here!” Shiro shouted.

“There’s no time! The prisoners are our main priority!” Lance yelled back.

“LANCE!” Shiro screamed as the wall crashed down.

The shots were fired more rapidly and Lance was already tired. One managed to hit Lance in the shoulder. The force of the blast caused him to rear back and hit his head on the metal wall behind him. 

“I hope Shiro and the others got away. I’m sure they’ll find a new Blue Paladin,” Lance thought before he lost consciousness.

Lance woke up with his head pounding at his right temple and pain in his shoulder. He groggily noticed that he was being dragged by two Galran soldiers. He felt too tired and weak to fight back against them and was subsequently thrown into the cell hitting one of the violet walls. The energy soon shocked him causing him to convulse on the blood covered prison floor. While he was convulsing, he noticed another person behind the purple wall staring at him with a surprised expression. The alien looked haggard and covered with scars that were still bleeding. The man was also purple and had long white hair with pointy ears. Despite his injuries, he still looked stunning.

“Beautiful,” Lance whispered before he once again lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Lance and Lotor finally meet....under horrible, horrible circumstances. The next chapter will feature them interacting. Now I'm off to learn about torture...yay.


	4. Introductions and Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor and Lance finally meet.   
> This is your warning: There will be torture and graphic violence.

Lance woke up in pain on the floor of this strange cell. His shoulder was on fire and his head was pounding. He was sore all over as he was still recovering from the electric shock he received earlier. His vision was still hazy and all he saw was violet. He rolled his head to his left as far as he can without too much pain and still saw only violet. He then rolled his head to his right and saw another figure sitting in the cell next to him. The figure was seemed to be the color of lavender but that could be the lighting of the cell walls. Once his vision clears, he is able to see his “neighbor” with more clarity. The figure looked male and was incredibly tall with long, white, and severely tangled hair. He then realized it was the person he saw before he passed out. The scars seemed to have stopped bleeding and the man still looked beautiful. He also noticed that the gorgeous stranger was staring right at him with a stoic but curious expression.

Not wanting to be rude, he pushed himself up by his elbows as far as he can and decided to introduce himself. “Hey, the name’s Lance. What’s yours?” he tried to say with smile but because of the pain it came off as a grimace. The stranger didn’t respond and continued to stare although his expression did change. His eyebrow quirked upwards and he looked more curious than before. Lance not taking well to the awkward silence decided to keep talking.

“Where are you from?” he asked in a friendly. He was met with silence but the man’s eyes showed confusion.

“Are you Galra? You don’t look very Galra but you do look purple. Are you purple?” Lance rambled. Lance internally cursed himself for sounding like an idiot. The man still didn’t respond although he looked briefly irritated before his neutral expression returned. 

Noticing his irritation and not wanting to make an enemy, he apologized to his cell neighbor. “Hey, sorry man. I didn’t mean to offend you. You just look very different from the Galra I’ve seen before,” Lance said in a placating manner. The man once again continued his silence. The silence went on for only a few dobashes but it felt like a lifetime.

“Can you at least tell me where we are?” Lance said with impatience. The man was still silent. Lance was getting really annoyed with this man’s attitude. He huffed and lay back down with his back towards his irritating neighbor. Just when Lance was starting to notice the various dried bloodstains (and hopefully it was just blood), a deep baritone voice responded.

“Talnh Baodam.”

“What?” Lance asked bewildered and turned to this aloof man.

“Talhn Baodam. It is one of the Galra’s secret prisons. I’m afraid that your stay definitely won’t be pleasant……..and yes. I am Galra…half-Galra.”

“Just like Keith,” Lance thought.

“So what are you here for?” Lance asked trying to stave off the silence.

Lotor didn’t get a chance to answer (not that he would) before a couple of guards and a druid showed up. Lance immediately sat up despite his soreness. The guards sported a pair of sadistic grins and their uniforms seemed to be splattered with blood. The druid looked the same as any druid he seen before but there was a difference. The druids were usually lifeless, emotionless, and have no personality as if they were ghosts. This druid however has an aura of sadistic glee. Lance shuddered and looked on as the druid pointed to his neighbor. The guards’ grins turned into terrifying smiles as they walked to a console in front of his cell. The violet wall in front shut off and the two guards walked in. They picked up the lavender man’s forearms in an obviously painful grip. They then dragged the man out of his cell and the alien didn’t put up a fight. Lance immediately started to worry.

“Hey! Where are you taking him?” Lance questioned with an obviously worried face.

“Don’t worry little paladin. You’ll get your turn soon,” one the guards laughed. The stranger jolted when the guard said the word “paladin” but then once again gone slack.  
Lance didn’t like the sound of those words. He watched as the guards laughed as they dragged the poor man off. Lance was then left alone. He immediately felt lonely and hugged his knees. He continued to worry for the alien he just met as took in his surroundings. He hoped that Shiro his friends will find him soon. It won’t take too long, right? Right?

Lotor’s were tied together without any fuss and he felt his shoulders protest as his arms were lifted up by the rope. The pain increased as he was lifted until his toes were barely touching the floor. Lotor looked around with bored expression at the familiar bloodstains on the walls. There were new ones on the walls. Those were from his blood. His suit was in tatters and his back was exposed. There were scars old and new on his back. His mind started to wander as he thought of the paladin that is now sits in a cell next to his. A paladin. He thought of how bizarrely kind the man was to him despite Lotor being Galra. It was strange. Why would the paladin be kind to someone that is basically the enemy? He wasn’t being deceitful. He was genuinely kind and expressed worry for someone he just met who is a Galra no less? Lotor wonders if the paladin would still be kind to him if he finds out that he is Zarkon’s son.

The druid stood at a console. One guard went behind him holding a whip. The other stood in front of Lotor with an equally bored expression. The guard started the same questions he has been asked since he dumped in this despicable prison.

“What are your plans?” Lotor said nothing as per usual. Then a lash hit his back. Lotor didn’t make a sound.

“Where are your generals?” Nothing was said again. Another lash came down onto his back. His back arched a little before he returned into position. He could feel a couple of his wounds starting to reopen. This interrogation went on for a long time. Lotor couldn’t see him but he sensed that the guard was smiling with his sick grin. The guard in front of him was started to look more and more annoyed as time goes on. During this, Lotor didn’t make a sound and his blood started to drip down his back from his new wounds onto the floor.

The guard then turned his head towards the druid as if waiting for permission. The druid then pressed and slided slightly up on the holoscreen. Lotor then heard a crackling sound behind him. The whip was becoming electrified.

“Where. Are. Your. Generals, half-breed runt?!” the guard questioned with an expectant voice.

“I wish we didn’t have to do this,” the guard said sarcastically and started to break into a grin.

There was a crack sound in the air before the whip came in contact. Lotor’s body exploded in pain as his body violently convulsed. The smell of burnt skin and blood filled the room. Lotor held out for as long as he could before he started screaming. The questioning and the torture went on for a couple of vargas. At the end, Lotor was panting and his voice was hoarse from screaming. His back felt as it was on fire. The smell of burnt skin still filled the room. There was a puddle of blood underneath his feet. He was barely hanging onto consciousness. The guard then cut him down and Lotor crumbled to the floor. He groaned once before he was again dragged to his cell.

To distract himself, Lance started to take in his surroundings so he doesn’t have think about the man that was taken away and worry about his own fate. He noticed that he was stripped down to his under suit which means he has nothing to defend himself with. Lance then looked around his cell and took notice of the details. The cells seem to be cubed shaped and the walls were made of some kind of energy. He could see the energy rippling in the walls periodically. He notices there was also no furniture so they were no places to sit or lean against. The floor is covered in blood. At least he assumes that it’s blood. He wasn’t sure. There were many colored stains on the floors. He began to wonder about how many aliens were in this cell before him.

He was brought out of his dark musings when the guards came back dragging the silvered haired alien. The man looked horrible. He was covered in scars and blood and there was a stench on burnt skin in the air. Lance wondered if that man was even alive. The groan the man gave off when one of the guards dropped him onto the cell floor confirmed that he was indeed alive. Lance felt slightly relieved but the feeling ended when he saw his back. When the man was dropped, he curled to his side which gave Lance a complete view of his back. His back was covered with scars old and new. There were several burns scars on his back which answered where the smell came from. The man was silent and barely but constantly trembling. He was obviously in horrible pain.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lance asked. Lance quickly berated himself because of course he wasn’t okay. The man was just tortured. Lance wanted to help him but there was no way he can actually. He doesn’t have any medical supplies and even if he does have the supplies the cell walls prevented him from coming into physical contact with him. The man was in terrible pain so Lance did the only thing he can think of. He tried to distract him from the pain. 

“Um…You know I have this friend named Coran….” Lance then told his neighbor the many stories that Coran told him in hopefully a calming manner. There were a lot of stories. Lance went on a few tangents about his life on Earth and family. This went on for a few vargas and Lance voice started to get hoarse but he cleared his throat a few times and kept going. He noticed that half way through his storytelling, the man’s trembling has stopped and his ear quirked up as if he was listening. Lance briefly thought the ear thing was cute when he was telling of the time that Coran was in a glam rock band. Lance was glad that he was able to help his possible friend even though it wasn’t much.

Lance was in the middle of the story of the time when Coran was hanging out with a group of bandits when the guards came for him. The wretched smiles where back on the guards’ faces as they came into his cells and dragged him out of his cell. Lance felt an immense amount of dread as they lead him to a room. He thought of many different ways they could torture him and he felt sick. He was lead to an almost bare room. It was grey and was illuminated but a violet light. There was table with restraints on it which is presumably where Lance will be placed. Lance was practically thrown onto the table. He struggled as he was being tied down and was punched in the face before the last restraint was in place. His arms and legs were restrained along his head. Lance was panicking as he wondered what they were going to do to him. Then the druid started towards him and during this Lance was trying futilely to get away. Lance then felt the sharp claws across his temples and dark course through him. Horrible, gruesome images were forced into his mind and Lance arched his back and screamed. He screamed and screamed for vargas.

Lotor was confused which is not a feeling he enjoyed. The human seemed very concerned about him. Why? Why did the human keep talking to him as if they were…friends? Does he know where they are? Lotor was at first annoyed at the seemingly inane chatter and wanted to lay in peace but eventually he had given in and started to listen. The stories of this Coran person were strange but also bizarrely amusing. It was right then that Lotor realized what the Paladin was doing. He was comforting him. Lotor found himself touched by this kind gesture.

He worried when he saw the guards and that damn druid come for Lance. The worry grew as time goes on. He selfishly hoped that Lance survived but at the same time he also hoped that Lance didn’t survive so he wouldn’t have go through with whatever hell that he was being put through again. He was relieved when he saw the guards dragged a dazed Lance back to his cell. He only saw minor injuries but he no less worried about this strange, kind human. Lance dropped like a rag doll and laid on the ground motionless which worried Lotor. As the soon as the guards left, Lance slowly curled up and wrapped his arms around his legs. He started rocking back and forth in effort to comfort himself. He had a haunted expression on his face and stared straight ahead. His eyes were red and there were tear tracks down his face. Lotor called out to him but Lance was unresponsive. After several tries, Lotor decided to return to the favor so he can bring Lance back out of his cationic state. Lotor decided to tell Lance about all the planets that he has visited (he didn’t mention the conquering part as didn’t want to give away his identity) and their cultures.

Lance couldn’t get the images out of his mind. He saw his friends and family dead in horrifying ways. He saw his mother stabbed, his sisters set on fire, his brothers beaten to death, and grandmother strangled. He heard their cries, their screams and their last breaths. He heard the sounds of bones being crushed and the splatter of blood. He saw the lions float lifelessly in space surrounded by Galra ships. He saw each of his friends’ lifeless bodies float in their cockpits. Their blood was slowly filling each of their cockpits. So many horrific scenarios flashed in his mind as he rocked back and forth. The image that stood out among the rest was the sight of Shiro lying dead in the Galran gladiator ring covered in so much blood. His blank, lifeless eyes staring back at him with accusation. Lance couldn’t look away. He couldn’t look away. Then he started to hear a familiar baritone voice. Lance’s eyes started to focus and then realized he was back in his cell. His throat felt terrible from the screaming and his muscles were in agony from the electricity that the druid ran through him. He felt the scar on his lip when he tried to stop himself from screaming. He then realized that the beautiful stranger was talking to him. He started to listen.

Lance still didn’t respond even though Lotor has been talking to him for about half a varga. Lotor then gave up as it seems that talking didn’t help like he thought it would. Lotor was about to lay back down when he was surprised by a hoarse voice.

“What was that again about the libraries of Xenozyla?” Lance questioned as his tears started to dry.

Lotor felt relieved that his (friend?) ally was alright and was with him again. He smiled and then talked about the strange books he found in the libraries of Xenozyla and then about his encounters with the dreaded librarians.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...that was something. So the next chapter will be a Shiro chapter and how he and the team deal with loss of their friend.
> 
> Note: The name of the prison come from the word "tánh bạo dâm" which means sadism in Vietnamese. The name of the planet that Lotor is talking about came from...nowhere. I just panicked and wrote a random word.


	5. Grief and Bad Cooking Skills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry it took so long! Yay Shiro and Hunk interaction!

_Some time ago… ___

__“LANCE!”_ _

__Shiro rushed to the imposing metal wall and punched it with no hesitation. He punched and punched and punched. He kept punching even though it made no effect even with his Galran arm. The only change there is that there is blood on the unyielding wall from also using his human hand._ _

__During all this, Pidge ran to Shiro and tried to pull him away. Pidge kept yelling him to stop and for a while fell onto deaf ears. The almost freed prisoners looked on with fear and sympathy for the heartbroken man._ _

__“Shiro…we have to go….”_ _

__“No! No! NO! We have to save Lance!”_ _

__“Shiro…I know…but we can’t! We have to free the prisoners.”_ _

__“But…Lance…” Shiro said with tears streaming down face._ _

__“I’m sorry, Shiro.”_ _

__Shiro looked back at the wall and Pidge tensed thinking that Shiro was going to try the wall again. Pidge didn’t know what to do except finish the mission and save Lance later. Shiro didn’t try for the wall again. He wiped his tears and then turned to recently freed prisoners as not heartbroken man but as the Black Paladin._ _

__“Everyone get into a lion! We are leaving right now!”_ _

__Nobody hesitated and sprinted into one of the lions. As everyone ran, Shiro looked back at the wall one last time._ _

___“Don’t worry Lance. I’ll find you. I promise!”_ Shiro thought._ _

__They all went inside the Lions. They didn’t waste any time and quickly left the prison port. Shiro activated the tractor beam on the Blue Lion. Shiro then activated the comms._ _

__“Hunk! Keith! Head back to the castle now! We got the prisoners!” Shiro ordered._ _

__“Alright!” they responded simultaneously. They didn’t notice that the Blue Lion was being dragged and not flying._ _

__They all the let the Castle of Lions know that they’re close and Allura opened a wormhole. Once everyone got inside the castle, all of them smiled at a job well done except for two paladins who looked like that they have lost. Hunk was the first to speak up._ _

__“Hey, where’s Lance?”_ _

__Shiro immediately slumped and wrapped his arms around his self. The action exposed his bloody knuckles for all to see. His shoulders soon started shaking but no tears came…yet. Pidge, a little misty-eyed, told everyone on the team what happened. During this, Shiro said nothing and stared at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He was thinking about what went wrong and how could he have fixed this. If there were a few tears streaming down his face, no one brought it up. Everyone reacted differently to the disappearance of their friend but all the reactions weren’t positive. Allura was trying to hold back tears. Hunk didn’t hold back his tears and fell to his knees grieving over his captured friend. Keith looked ready to fight and go after the Galras that took his friend but was held back by Allura. Coran looked as he lost a son. It seemed all the energy and color drained out of him. He looked older than what he was. The once proud Altean slumped and silent tears streamed down his face. Then one of the newly freed alien leaders spoke._ _

__“What your friend did was the most courageous thing I’ve ever witnessed. Once I return to my planet, we’ll have a celebration for his honor and pray for his safe turn.”_ _

__Some of the other leaders echoed this sentiment. Some even planned to erect a statue in his honor. The team, feeling a little better about the situation, started to return the leaders back to respective planets and back to their rightful place in government or on the throne. This took several quintants but it was nice distraction from the loss of their friend. After this, they started to focus on finding Lance with grim determination. They will find their friend in no time._ _

__That was five phoebs ago…_ _

__The Castle of Lions was quiet. It felt less like a home but more like a tomb filled with living corpses. After some time and some major arguments, it was decided that Allura will take on the mantle as the Blue Paladin. Speaking of the Blue Lion, there was a constant aura of melancholy around it ever since the quintant of Lance’s capture and no one is really sure how to comfort her.  
Keith was taking this pretty hard as Lance and he were starting to become really good friends. Keith spent most of his time training with the gladiator bots. When not training, he was working with the Blades of Mamora searching for leads on Lance’s location, which is starting to happen more often. _ _

__Pidge was searching her databanks and hacked many Galran files but nothing useful is found. It was like he disappeared into thin air. The only small comfort they have is that they know that Lance isn’t dead. If he was dead, Zarkon would have announced it for all the empire to hear. Pidge was getting little to no sleep and was mostly holed up in her room. They all tried to get her to take a break but they all failed miserably. Usually it was Lance that would try to get her some sleep, some food, and a little bit of social interaction. The strategy he would use is the promise of another video game grudge match.  
Coran either walked around the castle like a ghost or as a fake version of his usually cheerful self. No one also knew how to comfort him. Coran, during his fake cheerful moments, tried to keep the team together but to no avail. Everyone was withdrawing from each other. The team was falling apart in front of his very eyes and he can’t seem to stop. During his more depressive moments, he would miss how Lance would listen to Coran’s stories with rapt attention as helped Coran around the castle. He would miss how Lance tells everything he can about Earth and his family with a bittersweet tone. He would miss how Lance would always confide in him about homesickness and insecurities. He remembers the times when Lance would promise that he would introduce him to his family and then how they would instantly love him. Coran wonders if that promise would ever be fulfilled._ _

__Allura was using all of her political connections and worked tirelessly to find any leads. When she’s not bonding and comforting the Blue Lion, she was, surprisingly, spending a lot of time with Keith. Like Keith, she was taking this pretty hard as well, as they too became close friends. Their relationship changed from an unrequited crush to a close relationship between siblings.  
Hunk was predominately silent and spent all of his free time stress baking and cooking. A frown was permanently etched on his face instead of the usual kind smile. There were times where he actually scowled. The fridge was almost bursting with all the extra food._ _

__Shiro was the worst out of all of them. He searched with Allura only to be constantly disappointed by all these dead ends. He was becoming obsessed and short-tempered which caused friction among the team. The nightmares were becoming more frequent and they all seem to feature Lance. Some of those have Lance fighting in the arena instead of him. Some were of Lance being tortured. Some were of him finding Lance’s bloody and battered and realized that Lance died thinking that Shiro doesn’t care for him. Those were the worst. If fact, this kind of nightmare is what caused the Black Paladin to currently wander around the castle while the rest of the team is sleeping (well, should be sleeping). The Black Paladin wandered for what seemed like hours. After a while, he stumbled across the kitchen and was not surprised to see Hunk moving around the kitchen._ _

__He was going to reprimand him and demand him to go to his room and sleep despite making Shiro a hypocrite but noticed the dark bags under his teammate eyes. He noticed that, instead of the usual ease and passion, Hunk was moving robotically as he was going through the motions. Shiro continue to stare without being by noticed the once smiling engineer. Shiro saw when Hunk looked behind his back with a small smile and was about to say something but turned around when he realized that no one was there. Shiro didn’t need to guess who that missing person was. Shiro then decided to say something._ _

__“Hey…um…Do you need help?”_ _

__The engineer/master chef startled as he was sleepwalking and Shiro woke him up. He turned with haggard face in fully display. He looked surprised that Shiro is there and offering him some help. Shiro then realized they never really interacted outside of team training and grimaced at the guilt and the awkwardness of the current situation. While Shiro was briefly lost in his head, Hunk smiled a small tired smile and responded to Shiro’s offer._ _

__“Ummm…no…no way, dude. I mean I respect you, you’re my friend and you’re good at a lot of things but cooking isn’t one of them. I heard of your reputation at the Garrison. I would rather die than let you help!” Hunk chuckled. It was a little hollow but mostly genuine._ _

__Shiro face reddened and he tried to defend himself. “It was one time! I destroyed a kitchen one time” he said while dramatically pointing upward his, well, pointer finger. His face was still red as a cherry tomato. Hunk’s eyebrow then went upward when Shiro made that impassioned statement._ _

__“Okay five times! Is five times that many?” Shiro murmured as he looked away. Hunk’s tired smile then turned into a sly smirk._ _

__“One time is already too many! I remember how you “helped” with making a cake for the visiting officers and, well…it’s tragic what cake does to a man’s face.” Hunk ended half serious note but then start laughing._ _

__“You were just in charge of frosting!”_ _

__Shiro groaned and hid his face in shame but a smile started to form. Despite the humiliation, he felt better and was glad that someone is finally smiling even at his expense. He never noticed until now that Hunk usually teases this much mostly when Lance is around. Once he thought of Lance again, he couldn’t stop himself from slumping and a frown quickly replaced the smile he had a few seconds ago. Hunk quickly noticed the change in mood._ _

__“Fine! You can help.” Hunk said with a put upon tone. Shiro head shot up when he heard this._ _

__“You can…um…supervise. Yeah…that’s it. Just sit over there” Shiro would never admit to pouting despite Hunk’s amused look. Shiro then plopped on one of the chair surrounding the kitchen island._ _

__“Oh! One more thing.” Shiro then looked up expectantly._ _

__“Keep your bad cooking mojo to yourself.” Hunk laughed as Shiro rolled his eyes._ _

__Time passed by as Shiro watched Hunk’s now less robotic movements around the kitchen. He started to smell a sweet scent. Then Shiro realized he never asked what Hunk was making._ _

__“Hey Hunk.”_ _

__“Yeah.”_ _

__“What are you making?”_ _

__“Chocolate churros. They’re Lance’s favorite dessert.”_ _

__“Oh” Shiro responded. He was shocked to say the least. He has no idea how to respond than that lame answer. He then started to notice how most of the foods that Hunk was cooking were some of that Lance enjoyed. Hunk was preparing a feast for his missing best friend._ _

__“We’ll find him,” Shiro said with a look of determination._ _

__“I know and when we find him, I’m going to make his favorite, garlic knots,” Hunk said with the same look of determination._ _

__“So…garlic knots are his favorite? Huh.” Shiro then realized he doesn’t know much of his crush. He felt a stab of guilt for not reaching out before. Shiro then started to ask Hunk questions about Lance. This went on for a while with Hunk answering questions and ignoring Shiro’s “helpful” suggestions. One such example of this is “and that’s where Lance got his favorite jacket. Shiro, that not garlic that’s an onion! I don’t care if it’s an alien vegetable. What do you mean it’s hard to tell; the only real difference between our vegetables and these vegetables are the color? Besides, why would I use garlic in churros?”_ _

__Despite how tired he was, Hunk was having a great time. He never really had much (if any) one on one time with Shiro before. It was nice. It was a little weird (if not hilariously sad) at first just how clueless Shiro is with cooking but that’s okay as long as he stays away from his masterpieces. As time goes on, the Yellow Paladin started to notice something. Shiro is asking a lot of questions about Lance. At first, Hunk thought it due to Shiro’s guilt but this was getting a little excessive. Then Hunk got an idea._ _

__“Hey Shiro, what are you going to do with Lance once he gets back?”_ _

__Shiro’s eyes widen and he started to fidget. A blush quickly formed across his face. “W-what do you mean?” Shiro cursed himself for his voice trembling._ _

___“Gotcha.”_ _ _

__“I mean, what are you going to when Lance comes back?”_ _

__“I-um-I-um…I’m”_ _

___“I’m going to hold him and never let go. When he’s recovered from whatever he’s been through, I’ll tell him my feelings and then go on a date,”_ Shiro thought not willing to tell Hunk his feelings.  
Shiro shift back and forth in his seat and looking at everything except Hunk. If he had looked at Hunk, he would have seen his sly smug face. Not wanting to end Shiro’s torture, Hunk asked another question._ _

__“Before the….you know. I saw you drag off Lance. What were you doing?” Hunk instantly regretted the question when he saw Shiro’s face. He became pale and looked downwards. His answer sounded as he on the verge of crying._ _

__“I-I asked he wanted to do training with me. He didn’t take it well,” Shiro murmured._ _

___“Lance must have thought Shiro was calling him the weak link while Shiro was probably just trying to hang out with him. I guess Shiro is not just clueless in cooking. Oh god these two are such pining idiots.”_ _ _

__“Hey Shiro, I know you didn’t hurt his feelings on purpose and Lance likes you,” too Hunk wanted to add. Hunk turned back to his cooking._ _

__“I know… I overhead you both one night,” Shiro admitted. Hunk froze. Shiro heard Lance tell Hunk that he ~~is love with~~ has a crush on Shiro._ _

__Before Hunk can respond, Shiro murmured, “I like him too.” Shiro then abruptly left the kitchen hopefully back to his room._ _

___“Those pining idiots,”_ Hunk thought as he went back to his cooking trying to distract himself from his missing friend and the thought that his friend’s feelings were requited._ _

__A few quintants after the late night conversation, the team was called to the bridge. Keith was standing next to Allura and Kolivan was on the main large screen. He had a grave look on his face, well, more grave than usual._ _

__“We have a lead. We have word that the Blue Paladin is being held at Tahl Baodamz, one of the Galra’s secret prisons.”_ _

__There was general sense of relief among the team at the fact they know where their lost friend is but that quickly ended when they’re t old more details about horrifying prison._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up Lance and Lotor! They're not having a good time.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh well, constructive criticism is encouraged. Seriously, I need advice. No character hate except for Zarkon and Haggar because duh. Please like and comment. Validate me!  
> My tumblr: @shancelot-is-a-thing  
> My main: @smartlanceisreal  
> My nsfw tumblr: @nsfwshancelot


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